Twinterview
Rajiv Bajaj
MD & CEO, Bajaj Auto Ltd
Rajiv Bajaj
MD & CEO, Bajaj Auto Ltd
Rajiv Bajaj, 42, is the eldest son of India’s leading industrialist Rahul Bajaj. When he joined his family business in the late 90s, Bajaj, India’s undisputed two wheeler maker of several leaders was slowly losing ground to motorcycles made by international joint venture companies. Rajiv fought back making his own motorcycles and today, Bajaj’s Pulsar is a sought after bike by the Indian youth. An engineer at heart, Rajiv dislikes the management discipline and draws business insights from Yoga and homeopathy.
Yoga, Motorcycles and the Business of Brands
- Forbes India : Looking forward to seeing y'all at http://business.in.com/conversation/twinterview/rajivbajaj
- Forbes India : Hi all. At 1.30 pm, IST, we're going to be talking to Rajiv Bajaj on Twitter.
- Forbes India : To keep track of the conversation, you need to follow both us and Rajiv, who is @motorcycleyogi on Twitter
- Forbes India : We have a bunch of questions for hom, which should take up the allotted time.
- Forbes India : But if you have questions, tweet them to @forbes_india or @forbesindia and if we have time, we'll use them.
- Forbes India : Please do not tweet to @motorcycleyogi – Rajiv is extremely busy today, and is making time for us on condition we moderate the session
- Forbes India : So @motorcycleyogi will not answer direct tweets.
- Forbes India : 5 minutes to start-time.
- Forbes India : We will try our best to maintain our editorial standards, but since this is live, please excuse any typos you see :)
- Forbes India : It's only proof that we aren't editing this at all :)
- Forbes India : Okay. Almost 1.30. And we're all ready for Forbes India's first Twinterview. Are you? Mic testing, mic testing. :D
- Forbes India : Welcome to Forbes India's first Twinterview!
- Forbes India : Hi @motorcycleyogi - Are you with us?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Sure I am
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi We're very glad to have you with us for our first ever Twinterview. Welcome to the world of Twitter!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi We know we have very little time with you, so let's get straight to the questions.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Thank you; welcome to you as well to the world of Twitter asanas
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Thank you. We hope we can match your flexibility!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi The first few questions are bout yoga.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How did you get interested in yoga?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india I lost the anterior cruciate ligament on my right knee playing more soccer than I was capable of.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Not wanting to reconstruct left me incapable of doing any sport that included moving sideways...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Running or swimming - or for that matter anything! - in a straight line was boring. So I turned to yoga.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How many years has it been now?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Almost five ... and I feel five years younger
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How has yoga helped you in business?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india At the material level, it has raised my immunity - I have been practically allopathy free for years...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...with much improved blood test results despite multiple trangressions - the dietary kind!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi if only we could all keep our diets!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What will it take to get more young Indians to discover the power of yoga?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india The realisation that our true strengths & weaknesses lie within us; sustainable wellness is an inside out process...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...of enhancing our vitality by strengthening our God given life force, more commonly known as our immune system.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Why do you practice yoga: To stay fit; to build strength or for peace of mind?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india As the great homoeopath and yogi Dr. David Little told me: even the best human cannot bend as well as a monkey can...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...The body is not yoga's destination, it is its material vehicle for the journey to the mind.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi You are a believer in homeopathy. Is there a homeopathic cure for saddle soreness after biking over long distances?
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi related question coming up
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Are there any asanas you would recommend to prepare oneself for the physical demands of long-distance biking?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Now that's an 'acute' that just needs some rest...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...If however we were to treat it homoeopathically, we would first & foremost be guided by the principle of like cures like.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india in your case that means greater pain cures lesser pain, so I'd knock you hard on your head;
- Rajiv Bajaj : ...your life force then would turn its attention to that bruising & your mind wouldn't sense your butt any more!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi remind us not to complain about any pains when we meet you next!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Is yoga about all the physical activity you do or do you play any sport?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Unfortunately yes. I'd like to supplement it with some cardio-vascular activity. But then nobody's perfect!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi That's true. Though we aspire to it! Let's talk about bikes for a bit
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Why do you believe there isn't any room for a modern range of scooters in your product portfolio?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india I believe that the strategy for automotive profitability rests on specialisation...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Of about 50 mn 2wheelers sold worldwide every year, about 27 mn are motorcycles...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Herein Bajaj has a 10% share selling close to 3 mn motorcycles each year...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Its best bet at this time is thus to focus all its resources on doing 1 thing well: being a global motorcycle specialist..
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...thereby scaling its volumes up twofold, even threefold!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Why do you think superbikes are invariably associated with hot women?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Because they're both hard to ignore, even harder to handle, and hardest to put to any everyday use!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi getting back to serious questions..
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi If it wasn't for our high import duties, do you reckon Bajaj could have created a presence in the performance bike segment?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Ironically for as long as the market was protected up until the 1990s, Bajaj-
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...like most if not all Indian corporations of the time-created very little that was new...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...The opening up of our country has apparently served to awaken our Company...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india as well, for a brand that up untl then stood for India's cheapest scooters, is now synonymous wth its mst expensive motocycles
- Forbes India : If you've just tuned in, we're doing a Twinterview with Rajiv Bajaj - @motorcycleyogi - better known as MD, Bajaj Auto
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Would you travel in a Bajaj auto rickshaw? What is your take on its safety and pollution record on Indian roads?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india On the contrary, like most people I'm grateful for the autorickshaw that has been a lifesaver on more than one occasion!
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...is one of the most iconic, versatile, and profitable automotive innovations of all time...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...I believe that the time has come to present the world with a new 3wheeler...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...that meets the intracity challenges of pollution & congestion threatening this century; Bajaj is working on that.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi have you driven an auto? What's your top speed?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india I have once, and it was quick enough to get ahead of the 100cc bikes...
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What are the bikes made by other companies, Indian or foreign, that you have used? What was your favourite?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Several, my favourites are the Triumph Bonneville and the Ducati Monster 900.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How, honestly, do your bikes compare to those machines?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india I don't compare work with hobby;)
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Fair enough.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Have you ever driven a Splendor?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Of course, its part of my job! Dr. John Wallace once told me: Don't defend the past, attack the future.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How did it feel? If you were not in this business, would you buy it?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Only an 'opposite' position can potentially overcome an incumbent, as the maruti 800 did the ambassador...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...& the splendor did the chetak. So also one day a pulsar will the splendor;
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india riding a splendor helps me understand exactly what Bajaj must not do.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india To answer your last question..Sure I have, its very good at doing what it was built to...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...But I don't think that includes men who are over 6'3" & 200 lbs!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What's the most favourite motorcycle/ scooter journey you've ever taken?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india My journey at Bajaj - 19 years on 19th December!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Congratulation on that! And we look forward to many more anniversaries.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What are the good cruising roads in India?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Its easier for me to tell you about the bad biking roads, India has so many of them!
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...That's why we believe in KTM for India, for the KTMs are built to be raced anywhere.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi We'll save the bad roads for another interview, then, considering that you don't have too much time today!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Hero Honda makes a million plus of the same bike. Volumes = cost advantage when sourcing components. How will you beat that?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Our strategy for this market is rooted in 2 brands: the long distance commuter Discover & the everyday sports Pulsar...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Discover currently sells at close to a 1.2 million/year rate, and with the launch of the new Pulsar 135 LS...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...so will the Pulsar, up from its current 0.6 million/year level...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Furthermore, they share many of the high investment components & facilities.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What, to your mind, is Bajaj Auto's best product till date?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india The Pulsar for it was the first profitable Bajaj developed product...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...scooters & 3wheelers were liscenced from Vespa & the pre-pulsar motorcycles from Kawasaki.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Pulsar repositioned Bajaj in the marketplace & gave us a new centre from which we could build our future.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What is the most futuristic motorcycle you can think of that you would like to make? AC-ed bikes, amphibious scooters? ..?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Believe me, I've learned the hard way not to let my enthusiasm get in the way of the brand's purpose!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Does Bajaj have an electric bike/scooter in the works? If not, why not?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india We do have such development projects, but nothing that's targetted for immediate market introduction.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi let's move on to brands, to the business of brands..
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Did you think of doing anything else apart from joining your family business?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Nope. Candidly, I was complacent. But fortunately, its been something that I've enjoyed & contributed towards.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi How is your leadership style different from your dad's?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Our respective business environments are as different as could be...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ... and since we are shaped more by our environment than by our genes it stands to reason...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...that while our objectives are similar our strategies need to be different.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Personal question, if we may? Are you afraid of your father? He seems so formidable when he makes speeches.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Of course, all the time!
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...But fortunately when fear drives blood up to the brain, a 20 minute sirshasana will happily antidode it!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi You don't seem to believe in management as a discipline. So do you hire MBAs?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india A wise man said: before we embark on the process of possibilities, we must begin with the purity of principles...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...Unlike vocations such as engineering, medicine, economics, etc., with the 'master of business administration'...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...I have been unable to find any proven principles of 'administration' that it empowers its students with...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...We hire very few MBAs; its invariably the person we want not the degree...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ..and I would suspect that almost without exception, at Bajaj they unlearn their MBA as they begin to learn the business.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi All your products are addressed at men. Do you have any women in management positions at Bajaj?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india We do, but not enough, and not in the more senior positions.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Strong brands need consistent communication. Why does your Pulsar advertising keep changing radically every 6 months?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Pulsar created the sport motorcycle category in India in a meaningful way, and by virtue of having done that...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...occupies the position of 'performance everyday' ie an affordable practical sporty motorcycle...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india The communication stategy has always been consistent with this position...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...the creative articulation changes as it must to retain viewer interest.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Which product, Indian or foreign, has won purely on the back of superb branding? Something you would want to emulate.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india If you mean branding at the highest level ie the brand as the strategic business lever...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...it would be Steve Jobs work at Apple.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Does Bajaj Auto plan to leverage low cost manufacturing opportunities in China?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Yes, by progressively sourcing from there while at all times ensuring control over its intellectual property...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...and its quality standards.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi What do you believe will be the two key ingredients of success as you expand to overseas markets?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Keeping our strategy centred at the front end & our execution simple at the back end.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Will the influx of low cost cars like the Nano spell the end of motorcycles in the next five years? & 1 more from a reader..
- Forbes India : From @AgarwalDinesh - What is the strategy of Bajaj Auto in the small car segment which looks set to be burgeoning?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Such a shift demands affording an acquisition cost of at least 3 times, accepting a fuel economy that's one fourth...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...absorbing maintenance costs that are much higher, and finding parking space that's mostly non-existent in our cities.
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...It would be a dream come true if India would make that much progress in 5 years.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Do you have time for just a few more questions?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Sure...
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi we'll make this quick. we know we have gone way over time!
- Forbes India : If the scions of all Bombay Club members form a new Bombay Club, what would be its agenda?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india The old bombay club never existed, it was a figment of the media's imagination...
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india ...The new one won't happen, for the media's not that smart!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi We will not take the bait on that one. Not just now!
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Last question, then:
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Will you be using Twitter regularly after this interview?
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Well, let's see.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi Thanks very much for your time, and good luck with all your plans for Bajaj Auto.
- Forbes India : @motorcycleyogi We look forward to riding bikes made by the world's biggest motorbike manufacturer. :)
- Rajiv Bajaj : @forbes_india Thank you, this was fun. I am off now.
- Forbes India : Thanks for listening in, folks, and if you'd like to refer to the archive, go to http://business.in.com/conversation/twinterview/rajivbajaj
- Forbes India : Meanwhile, tell us: how did you like our first Twinterview?
- Forbes India : We'll be doing more in the near future.
- Forbes India : Bookmark http://business.in.com/conversation/twinterview/ and check for time/date/ & who we're twinterviewing.
- Forbes India : We'll also update our Facebook fan page, http://www.facebook.com/ForbesIndia & LinkedIn group: http://www.linkedin.com/groups?gid=1959962
- Forbes India : Up next, our poll for Forbes India Person of the Year!
- Forbes India : You can see our shortlist at http://forbesindiamagazine.com/personoftheyear and vote for your Person of the Year.
- Forbes India : You could win a prize for choosing the same person we do.
- Forbes India : There's also for a Readers' Choice winner, for whoever gets the most votes. This we'll post in our first issue of the new year.
- Forbes India : And if you're one of the people who voted for the eventual Readers' Choice winner, you could win a prize too.
- Forbes India : All details for the Forbes India Person of the Year poll and contest at http://forbesindiamagazine.com/personoftheyear
- Forbes India : We hope you enjoyed our first twinterview as much as we did. @motorcycleyogi told us he had fun.
- Forbes India : Bye for now. Keep the comments coming in. We love to hear from you.
- Forbes India : Apologies to all those who tweeted questions that we couldn't fit in. Unfortunately, Mr Bajaj was on a very tight schedule.
- Forbes India : Oops. One error. The archive for Twinterviews will be at http://business.in.com/twinterview.php